THE BEE-EATER. And learn to check each anxious thought, 251 THE COMMON, OF YELLOW-THROATED, BEE-EATER (Merops apiaster), belongs to the order of birds called Jaculatrices, or Darters. The generic name given to them is Merops. They are nearly allied to the Kingfishers, than which they have a more slender form; they are for the most part gaudily coloured, and are inhabitants of the warm regions of the old continent, and its islands. One species only visits this country, at irregular intervals: this is the above-mentioned, which has a fine glossy plumage, the colours being brownish red on the upper parts of the head, neck, and back, fading into yellow on the rump and scapulars; pale blue forehead; rich yellow throat, which is bounded by a band of black, joined to a broad patch of the same, which extends behind the eye; under parts of the body light bluish green. The length of this bird to the end of the tail is about ten inches; it is large-headed and full-chested, with a very long beak; it is a native of Africa, going nearly as far south as the Cape. The first specimen recorded to have been shot was in the summer of 1794, in Norfolk, and this was out of a flock of about twenty. Since then several have been taken. Bee-eaters are gregarious in their habits, migratory, and breeding together. Their nests have been found on the banks of the Don and Wolga; they are about six inches deep, and formed of moss; the eggs, from four to seven in number, are about an inch in length, of a pure glossy white. They have a rapid flight, and take their food, consisting of insects, while on the wing, like Swallows, than which their flight is less devious and 252 ITS FONDNESS FOR BEES. wavering; while pursuing their prey, or gambolling in the air, they utter a rich warbling kind of chirp. The Dutch settlers at the Cape call these birds Mountain Swallows; and they are said to guide the Hottentots to the wild honey in the woods. In the neighbourhood of Gibraltar they are plentiful; there they make holes in the sand-banks, which they excavate about three feet straight in, then take a rectangular direction, and continue this for three feet more, forming a large cavity at the end for the nest. In Egypt they are called the Bees' Enemies, and are much prized as articles of food. Virgil, in his 'Eclogues,' alludes to the fondness of these birds for bees: - Place the rich hives where, decked in painted mail, The swift Bee-eater, and among the rest The Swallow Procne with her blood-stained breast; The following lines by Wilson, descriptive of the habits of the Tyrant Flycatcher, or King-bird of America, apply equally well to this bird :— Behold him now, his little family flown, Meek, unassuming, silent, and alone; Lured by the well-known hum of favourite bees, Straight he alights, and from the pear tree spies FLY-CATCHERS, CHATTERERS, AND ROLLERS:-THE SPOTTED AND RED FLY-CATCHERS, THE BOHEMIAN CHATTERER, THE GARRULOUS ROLLER. THE HE first-named of the above genera belongs to the extensive family called by naturalists Myiotheina, or Fly-Chasers, of which species are found in all the warm and temperate parts of the globe; they are generally small birds, none so large as a jackdaw, some extremely diminutive; they have straight tapering bills, generally compressed. towards the top, with strong bristle feathers at the bases; their feet are small, so that they are bad walkers; they reside chiefly in woods and thickets, preying upon insects, which they find among the twigs and foliage; generally they are shy and timid, but some of the larger kinds are bold and quarrelsome, attacking and destroying smaller birds. The family is divided into several genera, and to 234 THE SPOTTED FLY-CATCHER. one of them, called Muscicapa, belong the only two representatives which it has in this country, viz., the GREY, or SPOTTED FLY-CATCHER (Muscicapa grisola), sometimes called the Bee-bird, or Cherry-chopper; and the PIED FLYCATCHER, M. atricapilla, the former of which is a migratory species, usually arriving in this country about the middle of May, and departing in the beginning of October. It is generally distributed through England, Ireland, and Scotland, frequenting plantations, low bushy hollows, orchards, and gardens, building its small compact nest of straw, moss, and hair, lined with feathers, in a hole of a wall or tree, or on a branch against the wall. The eggs are four or five in number, about three-quarters of an inch long, bluishwhite, clouded and spotted with light-brownish red and purplish grey. The bird itself is about six inches and three-quarters long, with a plumage prettily intermixed and marked, of brown and grey on the upper parts, and white on the lower. This bird is very useful in clearing the orchards and gardens of the flies that throng there when the fruit ripens, at which times, although actually preserving them from the myriads of insect destroyers, it is often accused of perpetrating the very mischief which it does much to prevent; from this erroneous opinion has arisen the name Cherry-sucker, applied to the cherry protector, by those who take every opportunity of destroying it. Mr. Weir, who carefully watched a pair of Fly-catchers, which had four young ones, found that in the course of one day they took food to the nest five hundred and thirty-seven times. He says:- It is impossible to give the precise number of flies that might have been consumed by their brood, as they sometimes brought to them one large fly, at other times two, three, four, five, and even more flies of different sizes.' We may gather from this fact some idea of their utility to man. A very interesting account is given by Mr. Meyer of a PARENTAL AFFECTION. 255 pair of these birds, which fed their young in confinement. It exhibits their tenderness and parental solicitude in a very striking light. We are the more disposed to quote it because our old friend the Robin plays a prominent part in the little drama, and in such a way as to heighten our love and respect for him. The narrator had taken a young brood of the Flycatcher, and placed them in a cage near a window, in the hope that they would be fed by the old birds: After they had been some time in the cage, a sudden stir was observed among them, and a bird hastily entered the window near which the cage was placed, alighted upon it, and as hastily retreated. In the course of a few minutes this was repeated, and it proved to be one of the parent birds, whose affection had traced the little ones to their place of imprisonment, and who was now supplying them with food. We were highly delighted at this circumstance, as it promised a proper supply of food for the nestlings, such as we could not ourselves have provided. We had now only to take the precaution of having the window constantly open during the day to admit the visits of this interesting little creature, who continued, day after day, to supply the young ones with food, notwithstanding the interruptions that might be supposed to be caused by a large family passing continually in and out, as the cage stood in the drawing room. Apparently, the task of feeding the nestlings was performed by one alone, probably the female, as only one bird entered the room, while her mate, who accompanied her constantly in her flight, always waited for her outside the window, either upon the roof of the house or on a neighbouring tree. The young ones usually appeared aware of the approach of the parent, and were on the alert, and eager to receive the expected food, some seconds before the appearance of the bird, although we could perceive no sounds that acquainted us of her approach. As before mentioned, the little nestlings sat upon an upper perch, but were not always near enough to the wires of the cage to be within reach of the parent when she appeared with food, which circumstance afforded an opportunity for a display of sagacity on the part of |